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The Paley Rothman Blog

Paley Rothman shares this library of resources with clients and friends of the firm to help them stay ahead of legal and business developments and trends. Here, you will find helpful tips and tools written by our attorneys. The information in the blogs and articles is not a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Should you have any questions or want legal advice, please contact the attorney who wrote the blog or article.

Estate & Trust Administration

Fed Program Preempts Virginia Death Benefits Statute

Virginia Code §20-111.1(A) and (D) revokes a beneficiary designation in any contract naming a former spouse as the beneficiary of death benefit proceeds. If the revocation is preempted by federal law, the statute stipulates that the former spouse is personally liable to the person who would have received the death benefit. This law was intended to prevent divorced individuals from inadvertently granting a windfall to an ex-spouse.

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Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning

New Virginia Trust Legislation Offers Creditor Protection

On April 4, 2012, Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law new trust legislation which provides additional opportunities for Virginia and non-Virginia residents to achieve creditor protection. Effective July 1 of this year, a person may create a self-settled spendthrift trust into which the settlor (otherwise known as the person creating the trust) irrevocably transfers assets to a trust, and the assets are protected from claims of the settlor’s creditors, provided the settlor is a discretionary beneficiary and there is at least one other beneficiary of the trust.

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